Why You Shouldn’t DIY Your Home’s Foundation

“If I can repair the plumbing, I can repair the foundation.” If you’re a handyperson about to embark on fixing your home’s foundation, please refrain from doing so. Take a moment to read about why a foundation is so important and why fixing it the right way is even more important.

What Does the Foundation Really Do?

A foundation is not just a floor the home builders slapped down and on which the framework rests. Properly poured concrete foundations involve digging, tamping, leveling, and specific mixes of concrete. Contractors take soil conditions into account as well as the water levels in a geographical area. The foundation provides the home’s base, and if it is cracked or has shifted, the entire home can be affected.

How Is the Home Affected?

A poor foundation not only lets in moisture—which can result in cracks, mold, bowed walls, and humidity—but it also can cause door gaps, window gaps, ceiling cracks, and sagging floors, among other things. All of these this can lower the value of your home.

What Is Wrong With DIYing?

Because of the foundation’s significance, repairs must be perfect. Unless you’ve been trained and have all the equipment you need, the chance of making a mistake is high. Only someone with specialized training can recognize whether the foundation’s structural integrity has been compromised. The problem might be more than just a crack in the foundation.

Home Value Decrease

Just like looking at a patched hole in the wall painted in a different shade than the wall itself, experts often notice DIY endeavors. When it comes time to sell your house or have it appraised for value, a home inspector will be able to spot repairs done by someone other than a specialist. This decreases the value of your residence and may make it difficult to sell.

Injury and Exacerbating the Problem

Novice handling of repairs, such as when using tools or trying to remove mold, could result in an injury. It could also make the problem worse, such as widening cracks. For example, filling a shallow crack yourself with specialty products from a home improvement store might be OK, provided the crack doesn’t run deeper than you think. However, if you’re not an expert, you won’t know how deep it is, and leaving it improperly filled and sealed is just as bad as doing nothing. An improper repair could come back as a worse problem in the future.

Wrong Tools

Unless you own a company specializing in foundation repair, you’re not going to have the tools and materials necessary to make the correct repairs. Nobody has slabjacking injection foam or helical piers just lying around the backyard. You might not even know you need these things — which is why it is so important to get an expert’s opinion as to what needs to be done.

Many homeowners think they know how to remove and remediate mold, but that’s usually not the case. To remove mold, you need to know where it is, but it’s often hidden and missed by homeowners. A mold remediator must take specific industry safety precautions, including wearing a safety suit and other gear that the average homeowner doesn’t know about.

Acculevel Does It Right

Acculevel has all the expertise, tools, and products necessary to repair even the most cracked foundation. With years of experience beneath our belts, our skilled staff is ready and able to assist you with everything from a shifted foundation, bowed walls, mold remediation, and waterproofing. If you live in the Midwest and would like us to take a look at your foundation and tell you what the damage is, please contact us at (866) 669-3349 or [email protected]